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Glite Dictionary
directmate

directmate

9.9
A chess puzzle where White must checkmate Black in a fixed number of moves no matter how Black defends
  • noun
  • /dɪˈrɛktmeɪt/
  • Jargon
translation icon : directmate
  • The composer designed a three-move directmate to challenge experienced solvers.

Examples

  • In this directmate, you must find the solution in three moves.

  • We practiced solving a new directmate every morning at our chess club.

  • In a typical directmate, every possible Black defence is carefully anticipated.

  • The puzzle is a challenging directmate.

  • The composer designed a three-move directmate to challenge experienced solvers.

  • In a typical directmate, every possible Black defence is carefully anticipated.

  • In this directmate, you must find the solution in three moves.

Surface Forms

directmate singular
directmates plural

Morphology

directmate = direct + mate (semi-transparent) = direct + mate

Formally a compound of 'direct' + 'mate' whose components are clear, but the full technical chess meaning (White to move and mate in a specified number of moves regardless of defence) is specialized and not fully inferable by an average learner.

Etymology

Directmate comes from the parts direct meaning 'straight' or 'without help' and mate meaning 'checkmate', the move that wins in chess. So a directmate is a chess problem where White must checkmate Black in a set number of moves no matter how Black defends.